Digital platforms for transportation operators

Faced with increasing requirements, transport operators are aiming at improving client loyalty and satisfaction through additional services. Digital platforms enable new business models and ecosystems of partners, bundling the services into a “one-stop shop.”

We provide the vision for a platform business model for the transportation operators and assist up to the actual implementation. It’s a door-to-door experience combining multi-modal mobility services, from planning, booking and payment, to staying informed during the trip. Other services not directly linked to transportation, but consumed during the transport, are added to platform.

We help select business partners who deliver additional services and integrate them into an ecosystem, making it profitable for all parties.

We have the technology to demonstrate the concept and accelerate implementation.

Sample project: Digital Skipper Assistant (DSA)

The volume of transport in inland shipping is set to rise in the coming years. The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 sees transport on inland waterways increasing by 23 percent for Germany alone. As the infrastructure of inland waterways will remain unchanged, new means for a more efficient use of existing infrastructure will be required.

The DSA creates a digital ecosystem for the inland shipping sector. All stakeholders along the value chain (skippers, shipping companies, clients) will be able to lower their costs and optimize their transport on inland waterways.

Goals of the „Digital Skipper Assistant”

The application enables reliable planning for long-term routes and for the arrivals of inland ships through the integration of water-level forecasts and transport situations. It also allows for better planning for tonnage and times to increase the profitability of transport.

Additionally, the DSA as a digital platform enables new forms of cooperation between the stakeholders in the inland shipping sector with further services and functions. Interfaces with ports and locks facilitate the traffic flow of ships. More digital services can be added with their own business models to the application via the IT platform.

A reliable forecast of water levels allows a better planning for cargo and thus increases the profitability of my routes directly.

Ralf Kiepe, Heinz und Ralf Kiepe Schifffahrts OHG M/S Karl-Hein

The aim of the DSA is to increase the efficiency and profitability of the inland shipping sector. For its users, digital opportunities are identified and realized across the entire value chain. The Digital Skipper Assistant will be available as a prototype to each user when the field testing begins.

Research project DSA

The Digital Skipper Assistant is funded as a research project by mFUND, a program by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The results of the research project will be published at the beginning of 2019.

The research project is a collaboration between BearingPoint, the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) and Technical University Berlin.

Because of the DSA-research project, skippers, shipping companies and industries depending on inland shipping will be able to use inland waterways for their transportation tasks in innovative ways that will improve their profitability.